>>I think the quality is improving along with the quantity, and that's largely due to feedback from people like you. <<
I agree that the quality is improving, and I'm glad I could help.
>> I'm also finding myself lesss daunted by the prospect of drawing backgrounds or unusual 'camera' angles. <<
I think your style of crowdfunding lends itself well to the gradual development of backgrounds, where you start with a fairly rough sketch and then refine as you discover things or people comment on them. You also have a marvelous gift for unusual angles, not just for artistic interest but also for solving challenges in composition, like the back-of-the-oven perspective in "Restoration."
>>Yes, I've decided that anything that I and my audience are really enthusiastic about is worth showing to an art director...which of course adds "assemble list of art directors" and "design + send sample packages" to my list of things to do...<<
True also; the first time I had an editor ask me for a book was for a popular poetic series, The Origami Mage. I've been quite gratified by how good of an "editor" my audience makes collectively, along with individual people who are just really good at selection and/or feedback. By the time my audience is done going over a batch of poetry, they have usually picked out most of the best ones.
So I think you're on the right track with gathering things to show to art directors. Maybe ask your audience for help in choosing what to put together.
>>I'll have to think about that one. I don't want to be seen as unprofessional, but focusing too much on that seems like it might make this feel like a job...which kinda takes the fun out of it. <<
For me, wordsmithing is my dayjob and I like that. Doesn't have to be the same for everyone, though. The idea is to figure out what your underlying motivation is and how to connect with that.
>>For example, I can produce several sketches in a row more easily than I can do a sketch followed by a piece of writing.<<
That's chunking, then, and there are ways to make a schedule support it. No wonder you do well with Sketch Fest; it's perfect for that.
>>I'm hoping it will provide an income stream that requires less constant attention than the more interactive Story Sketches.<<
Yeah, one of my goals for this year is to collate more of the poetic series. Eventually I'll be offering things that people can buy, like collections from previous years. I need to find ways of creating a backlist with the Poetry Fishbowl project so previous work can continue to generate income.
>> I do track income and participation by project, but I haven't really stopped to look at the numbers and what they mean.<<
It took me two or three years to get enough data to start seeing important patterns, even just to figure out what I should be looking for. Sometimes if you skim back over things, something will jump out at you.
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Re: Yay!
Date: 2012-04-26 09:24 pm (UTC)I agree that the quality is improving, and I'm glad I could help.
>> I'm also finding myself lesss daunted by the prospect of drawing backgrounds or unusual 'camera' angles. <<
I think your style of crowdfunding lends itself well to the gradual development of backgrounds, where you start with a fairly rough sketch and then refine as you discover things or people comment on them. You also have a marvelous gift for unusual angles, not just for artistic interest but also for solving challenges in composition, like the back-of-the-oven perspective in "Restoration."
>>Yes, I've decided that anything that I and my audience are really enthusiastic about is worth showing to an art director...which of course adds "assemble list of art directors" and "design + send sample packages" to my list of things to do...<<
True also; the first time I had an editor ask me for a book was for a popular poetic series, The Origami Mage. I've been quite gratified by how good of an "editor" my audience makes collectively, along with individual people who are just really good at selection and/or feedback. By the time my audience is done going over a batch of poetry, they have usually picked out most of the best ones.
So I think you're on the right track with gathering things to show to art directors. Maybe ask your audience for help in choosing what to put together.
>>I'll have to think about that one. I don't want to be seen as unprofessional, but focusing too much on that seems like it might make this feel like a job...which kinda takes the fun out of it. <<
For me, wordsmithing is my dayjob and I like that. Doesn't have to be the same for everyone, though. The idea is to figure out what your underlying motivation is and how to connect with that.
>>For example, I can produce several sketches in a row more easily than I can do a sketch followed by a piece of writing.<<
That's chunking, then, and there are ways to make a schedule support it. No wonder you do well with Sketch Fest; it's perfect for that.
>>I'm hoping it will provide an income stream that requires less constant attention than the more interactive Story Sketches.<<
Yeah, one of my goals for this year is to collate more of the poetic series. Eventually I'll be offering things that people can buy, like collections from previous years. I need to find ways of creating a backlist with the Poetry Fishbowl project so previous work can continue to generate income.
>> I do track income and participation by project, but I haven't really stopped to look at the numbers and what they mean.<<
It took me two or three years to get enough data to start seeing important patterns, even just to figure out what I should be looking for. Sometimes if you skim back over things, something will jump out at you.